


the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you

by adorkabealekendrick



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: 90s, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe 90s, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Chloe Beale - Freeform, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell Angst, Drama & Romance, F/F, Folklore, High School, Inspired by Taylor Swift, Minor Beca Mitchell/Jesse Swanson, One Shot, Prom, Romance, Soft Beca Mitchell, Teen Romance, Teenagers, beca mitchell - Freeform, bechloe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:54:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25518385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adorkabealekendrick/pseuds/adorkabealekendrick
Summary: based on taylor swift's song 'betty'.The tone of the room had changed. No longer was Chloe jokingly sending her puppy eyes Beca’s way, begging in that sickly sweet voice that always got the brunette to cave. This was a real and genuine wave of anxiety, a sudden panic that she wasn’t good enough. The look she received made Beca’s heart both jump and plummet; all she wanted to do was make sure that she never saw that look on Chloe’s face again.
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you

**the only thing i wanna do is make it up to you**

_May 24th_

“Shut up…” Chloe gasped, hoisting herself up onto one elbow to stare incredulously at the brunette lying next to her. The noise of Destiny’s Child on the ‘Top 90s’ vinyl Beca brought her last week suddenly faded into the background; her soul focus on the girl currently shrugging callously opposite her. 

Rolling her eyes, Beca smirked and shook her head. “Is it that much of a big deal?”

She couldn’t help but let out an uncharacteristic giggle at Chloe’s strangled noise of horror. 

“Beca, you have got to be kidding me right now.” 

“I’m not!” Beca laughed as the redhead crawled over and straddled her thighs, still glaring in shock at the musician. 

“You.” Chloe said lowly - she knew the gravelly tone in her voice was a sure-fire way to make Beca blush, and, of course, the brunette’s smile dropped and she stared back up at Chloe, suddenly breathless and doe-eyed. “Have never…” she laced their fingers together, “ever…” she brought their hands to rest on either side of Beca’s head, “ _ever_ …” she leaned forward, until their noses were practically touching and their lips were mere inches apart. She could feel Beca’s little desperate intake of breath and smirked. “Been to a school dance?”

Even in such a compromising position, Bca couldn’t help but grin, midnight eyes sparkling up at the ginger. “You are getting so worked up over nothing.” She said matter-of-factly, grinning as Chloe’s grip tightened against her hands. 

“You’ve never been to a school dance!” Chloe all but exploded. “I can’t believe you, I can’t believe we’re like-we’re like doing this and you haven’t been to a school dance. I can’t believe-"

“Oh, my god!” Beca threw her head back and laughed. “I don’t see the appeal, okay?”

Letting out a dramatic and anguished cry, Chloe fell forward, face landing on her bed next to Beca’s. “I hate you.” Chloe muffled against the covers. 

“Well, I guess I should go, then-” Beca moved to get up, grinning as Chloe’s hand moved from hers to her shirt and gripped on. 

“Don’t you dare.” Chloe smiled softly, pulling her closer and capturing her lips in a slow, warm kiss. She felt Beca grin against her lips and immediately lean in further for more but Chloe pulled away, keen on teasing her a little. Beca chased her lips unintentionally before her eyes fluttered open.

Searching her eyes briefly, Beca scoffed slightly. “Stop thinking about that. It’s not gonna happen, Beale.”

“Yes it is.” Chloe grinned devilishly. She had that glint in her eye again - the same glint she had before she kissed Beca for the first time after gym class, the same glint she had when she wouldn’t tell Beca where her skateboard was so she was forced to stay for dinner, the same glint she had when she first heard Beca sing, and the same glint she had when she got them both in trouble in chemistry for mixing the wrong elements together and making a mess so that they could spend time together afterschool cleaning up. 

“Is not.” Beca whispered.

“Is too.” Chloe said. “Please?”

Beca frowned. “Don’t make that face.”

“What face?”

“That one. The one you always make, stop it.”

“Bec, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chloe said pitifully.

Beca groaned. “You are so annoying! I...It’s not that I _don’t_ want to…”

“What is it?” Chloe asked. 

The tone of the room had changed. No longer was Chloe jokingly sending her puppy eyes Beca’s way, begging in that sickly sweet voice that _always_ got the brunette to cave. This was a real and genuine wave of anxiety, a sudden panic that she wasn’t good enough. The look she received made Beca’s heart both jump and plummet; all she wanted to do was make sure that she never saw that look on Chloe’s face again. 

“We’re not...you know... _out_. I can’t take you to the dance. Everyone would stare and...and say shit to us. And probably worse. And my-my dad will probably be a chaperone, and-”

“Take me.” Chloe interrupted softly. She smiled at Beca’s surprised but slightly excited look. “Take me...we’ll look like we’re going as friends. We won’t tell anyone. I won’t even tell Bree. And...I can invite you over for a sleepover after,” 

Flushing a bright red, Beca nearly choked taking a breath. “What about-”

“My parents are never home on prom weekends, they learnt from my brothers,” Chloe snickered, before looking shyly at the brunette. “Do you...are you okay with-”

“Yeah.” Beca breathed. She cleared her throat to speak properly, but by the time she had opened her mouth she was practically tackled onto the mattress and all she could feel was a wave of warmth rushing through the pit of her stomach as Chloe peppered kisses along her neck. Beca giggled lightly “Chlo,” she was silenced by Choe’s lips moving against her own, and she let out a small sigh, pressing back just as feverishly.

Neither of them had ever done _it_ before. They’d come close a couple of times, but never close enough. As cliche as it seemed, all of a sudden Beca couldn’t wait for prom night. She didn’t know how long they were kissing for. It was long enough for Chloe’s hand to rest on Beca’s collarbone, and long enough for Beca’s to wrap around Chloe’s waist and hold her as close as possible. Long enough for their legs to intertwine and for them to eventually break off breathless with lips rosy and full. 

“Let’s go downstairs,” Chloe said. She was trying her hardest to sound bright, but her voice was almost pained with desire, Beca could hear it. It made her want to press her legs together. Or lock Chloe’s door. Or both. 

“Okay,” 

They spent most of the afternoon playing SEGA; joking around as if they hadn’t kissed a thousand times, as if they weren’t already struggling to wait another month before they could do anything more. They were outside sitting on Chloe’s patio, watching dusk fall and eating ice cream, when Chloe’s mother appeared at the patio doors. 

“Girls, Mr Mitchell was just on the phone, he says it’s time for Beca to come home before it gets dark.” 

“Was he in a good mood?” Beca called back, twisting around to look up at Lizzy with hopeful eyes and a small smirk. 

Lizzy chuckled. Beca was one of very few friends of Chloe’s whom she adored - she was funny and kind, and Chloe clearly loved spending time with her. Nowadays, they were nearly always together, doing homework or browsing record stores or going on road trips together. The girl was truly everything her daughter needed to truly be happy, it was clear. Neither of them would want to admit it, but she knew. 

“Not good enough for you to get a ride home,”

Beca rolled her eyes in exasperation and groaned, making Chloe and Lizzy laugh. 

“C’mon, I’ll walk you to the front,” Chloe said lightly, putting their bowls down and standing up. 

“See ya, Mrs Beale. Thank you for dinner,” Beca said genuinely, giving her a lopsided grin. 

“Ride safely, Beca.” Lizzy told her seriously, walking into the kitchen and watching as Chloe took Beca’s hand and led her towards the entrance hall.

“I will!”

Outside on the porch - away from the beady eyes of her brothers, who had just returned from college for the summer, and their neighbours - Chloe pressed one last kiss to Beca’s lips. 

“See you tomorrow,” she bit her lip and smiled.

Beca smirked, stealing one more kiss before she picked up her skateboard and saluted the redhead, stepping onto the sidewalk and skating off. She only managed a few feet before abruptly stopping, and rushing back up to Chloe’s house.

“Wait, sorry, here,” she started to unbutton Chloe’s cardigan from her person. “I completely forgot I had it on, sorry,”

“Becs, I don’t need it,” Chloe giggled, watching gleefully as Beca continued to fumble with the buttons.

“No, it’s yours-”

“I’m going inside! I don’t need it, keep it,” 

Beca looked up at her, a small, flattered look of surprise rested atop her features. “Yeah?”

“You can wear it and think of me,” Chloe teased, making Beca blush and roll her eyes.

“Whatever, Beale...thank you.” Beca bit her lips briefly, buttoning the cardigan back up. “See you in homeroom,”

Staring at her feet as she walked back to her board, Beca could hardly hide her happiness. This wasn’t her...she’d never felt anything like this for anyone. Taking her girlfriend’s - were they girlfriends? - cardigan home after spending all day with her. Knowing she was going to wear it to school with pride tomorrow. 

It was almost too good to be true.

_June 24th_

“Hey, Chlo?” Beca shouted over the music at her date, downing her punch and placing the empty cup on the table.

“Yeah?” 

“Do you mind if I go outside for a sec and take a breather?” Beca asked, eyes darting around a little at the swarm of hot and sticky teenagers across the gym.

“Sure, let’s go!” Chloe nodded brightly, about to down her drink also when Beca put her hand over the redhead’s.

“It’s okay, I know you’re enjoying yourself. Stay. I won’t be long.”

“Kay!” Chloe grinned, disappearing immediately into the crowd.

Beca smiled to herself as she turned and made her way outside to the football field. There were a few people around, mostly making out, so she kept her head down and went to sit in the bleachers. It wasn’t that she didn’t _like_ parties - she just needed a high intake of alcohol to actually enjoy them. Obviously there were kids around who have been drinking tonight, but with her dad as the main teacher chaperoning, something told her following in their footsteps wouldn’t be such a good idea. Taking a moment to herself allowed Beca to think about her evening so far. Her mind was still replaying Chloe walking downstairs in her prom dress. Her dress flowed elegantly and effortlessly as she stepped, looking as dainty as a fairy but majestic as a lioness. Beca was at a loss for words when she saw her. Chloe wore a beautiful blue dress, lightly patterned with sparkles along its shirt and accentuating her body perfectly. She was gorgeous. And Beca felt like the luckiest idiot in the world knowing Chloe has chosen her of all people to date that night. A night that was so, _so_ important to the redhead, where she could’ve been with anyone she wanted, and she chose Beca. Just the thought of it was enough to practically make her heart melt. Not that she would admit that to anyone…

“Hey!”

Beca frowned, raising her eyes briefly at the field. That wasn’t Chloe’s voice.

“Heyyy! Becaw!!”

Her frown deepened - of _course_ Jesse had to find her right now. He hadn’t left her alone all year, constantly annoying her like a bad smell. Amy kept telling her he was trying to ask her out, but Chloe would merely scoff and the insinuation, and Beca would be damned if she let that happen. With a quiet but exasperated huff, Beca raised her head and smiled slightly at the stumbling brunette clambering over the bleachers to get to her. 

“Hi, Jesse.” Beca sighed, watching as he sat down next to her. 

“What are you doing up here? Don’t you know there’s a dance going on??” 

Beca couldn’t roll her eyes hard enough. 

“No, I’m here wasting my Friday night sitting on the bleachers for no apparent reason, Jesse, obviously.” 

Jesse laughed. “So...why aren’t you in there dancing like everyone else?”

“Why aren’t you?” Beca retaliated immediately. 

“I saw you slip out and I wanted to come find you,” Jesse said honestly, grinning as Beca glanced at him in surprise.

“Oh,” she said lightly. Beca swallowed. “I just wanted to get some fresh air,” they fell into silence for a moment, before she realised she should at least continue the conversation. “Who’d you bring?”

“Oh, I didn’t bring anyone,” 

“What?” Beca asked in amusement. “You spend your time perfecting rubiks cubes and obsessing over movie scores and you didn’t bring anyone to prom?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Jesse shrugged. “What about you? Who asked you to prom?” 

Beca looked away to hide her slight smile. “I’m here with Chloe,”

The second it came out of her mouth, she froze. She turned back round to face him - gone was the innocent and goofy smile. The way Jesse was looking at her pushed her back into reality.

“What? Like...on a date??”

“Dude, no!” Beca exclaimed quickly. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest from the sudden rush of anxiety. There was only one word being screamed by her brain through the panic. _Lie. Lie. Lie. Lie._ “We’re not _gay_. Just friends. You know? We thought we’d just ditch the date thing cause it’s so like...cliche, and overplayed, and it’s not even fun anyway. We came as friends.” 

Jesse laughed. “For a second I seriously thought you were gonna say you’re a dy-”

“I’m not.” Beca clenched her jaw firmly. The last thing she needed was to spend the rest of the night anxious that her and Chloe would be outed to the entire school.

“If you were, I don’t think Chloe would know,” Jesse snickered. “Not when she’s been stuck grinding on Tom for the last twenty minutes,”

Beca couldn’t help but reel back, dumbstruck. “What?”

“Yeah, I know they’ve been on and off for like, the last three years, but they look real close tonight. I hope you have a ride home cause she’s probably going back to his,” Jesse smirked, “popular girl, popular guy, it’s not a surprise,”

Beca looked out at the football field and clenched her jaw. She took a long, deep, labored breath and nodded just as slowly. That warmth in her chest was back. It felt like fire. 

“You okay?”

Beca crossed her arms. “Fine. We just-had a deal, you know?”

“No dates, yeah. Guess she’s a bit of a shit friend,” Jesse said. 

“I need to see this for myself.” Beca muttered, standing up. She began to walk away before noticing a severe lack of goofy footsteps behind her. “Are you coming or what?” She snapped, not bothering to look behind her as she heard Jesse scramble to get up.

All she had to do was stand at the doors of the gym. Earlier, the gym was so packed out that Beca felt she could hardly breathe let alone see anyone past a two metre radius. Now she hardly had to scan the crowd to find Chloe’s bright hair, flying about as she giggled and danced with the quarterback of the football team. Ouch. 

She didn’t feel the tear welling until it fell, and she quickly ducked her head and swallowed the lump forming in her throat, grabbing Jesse’s wrist and pulling him off towards the lockers. 

“Bitch.” Beca cursed. “Tom is such a dickhead, what does she fucking see in him?”

“Sorry Becaw,” Jesse said. “Fake friends are the worst.”

“Tell me about it.” Beca muttered, leaning against the lockers and looking up at the boy in front of her. 

She could hardly think straight. This was the other situation that had been on her mind all year - her and Jesse always seemed like a safe possibility, something that even she couldn’t be undesirable enough to fuck up. And after seeing Chloe and Tom...she _wanted_ to be able to like Jesse. She wanted safe. She didn’t want whatever Chloe clearly thought they were. She didn’t want to be what Tom was to Chloe - another someone to play around with. She’d never liked a guy before. She needed to at least try. She searched his eyes for a moment. He was looking at her lips. Everything inside felt like an angry fire, ignited by jealousy and regret. 

And all of a sudden, Jesse’s lips were on hers.

They were rougher than Chloe’s. There was no taste of cherry chapstick or spearmint gum, no smiling or little sounds that sent jolts of pleasure through her. But it also wasn’t bad. His hands were already on her waist, gripping softly and bringing her closer, kissing her deeper. Beca blocked all thoughts of Chloe and Tom out of her mind then. She kissed him back. 

“Beca?” 

The pair flew apart, and Beca’s head snapped round. Her eyes met wide and betrayed baby blues. Beca gulped. Chloe’s mouth was agape, her face was beginning to pinch from confusion and the sudden benumbed and despondent feeling raging through her heart. Tears welled and overflowed, and her bottom lip quivered. Beca truly felt her own heart plummet to the floor. She felt sick. The worst thing of all was that Chloe didn’t spare a single glance towards Jesse. She wasn’t jealous. She wasn’t mad. She wasn’t attempting to blame Beca’s mistake on him, even though he was the instigator. She was nowhere near as targeting as Beca was, and that was clear. Beca _hated_ Tom. She hated him with a passion. But in this suspended moment, all Beca could feel was the pure pain radiating from the redhead. And it hurt. It hurt so _fucking_ much.

“Chlo…”

Chloe shook her head, stumbling backwards and turning around. 

“Chloe, wait-”

“Go fuck yourself, Beca.” 

Gasping for breath, shaky hands flew to Beca’s mouth, as if wiping her lips would rid her of the kiss and she would be able to pretend as though nothing had happened. 

“Beca, I’m sorry-”

“Leave me alone, Jesse.” Beca whispered quietly, avoiding eye contact as he raised his hands in a surrender and backed off back to the gym.

Beca squeezed her eyes shut as the gravity of her situation began to settle in. Chloe had been dancing with Tom. What the fuck had Beca been thinking? She kissed someone without even taking a moment to consider that Chloe hadn’t done anything wrong. She cheated. 

“Oh my god…” Beca mumbled, feeling her breath hitch as her hands ran through her hair and clenched. “This isn’t happening. Shit!” 

“Did you have, like, a pact or something? No guys tonight??” Amy asked, making Beca jump. She hadn’t even noticed Amy was there.

“I-” Beca said shakily. “I need to go talk to-”

“Ahhh…” Amy sang. “I don’t think that would be such a good idea. You’re only gonna make it worse.”

Beca looked up at the Aussie in a tearful defeat. She was hardly audible as she spoke. “You think I should give her space?” 

“Yeahhh. At least until, like, Monday,” 

“I won’t see her on Monday. It’s summer. She’s going away with her family for a week- _fuck!”_ She exploded, lip quivering. “Fuck!” 

She could hardly breathe. Her chest, her throat, her stomach - it all felt like it was closing. The walls, too. Closing in on her. Even Amy’s presence was overbearing. 

“Relax, Beca, just call her, I only told her cause she asked where you went,” Amy shrugged, clearly not seeing the big deal.

“Call her. Yeah. Thanks.” Beca scoffed and sniffled; like it was that fucking simple. Like Chloe would even answer. She couldn’t believe the turn of events. She couldn’t believe that it was _Amy_ of all people who had ruined it all for her, the same girl Chloe hardly ever trusted enough to believe. This was supposed to be her and Chloe’s night. They were supposed to dance together, take photos together, cook dinner together, steal kisses and make out and listen to music and have _sex_ together. She was supposed to _tell_ Chloe tonight. Beca had built up this perfect, somehow attainable reality in her mind, one where she was happy spending all summer with her girlfriend. She’d never really been interested in guys, she knew that. But this...she had never even let herself dream of this before Chloe. And now she was so close to being a normal teenager in a relationship with her person. Whether they did the normal stuff of kissing at the arcade or sharing meals at the mall, whether they kissed in front of each other’s friends or at parties...she thought it was bound to happen. After the past two months, she didn’t think anything or anyone could possibly ruin what she and Chloe had going.

And yet, here she was.

She knew it was too good to be true.

_July 24th_

Beca sniffed, kicking the few loose cobbles at her feet as she strode slowly along the path. She was taking a long detour back to her own house from the skatepark. In her head, she told herself it was for the extra exercise she needed during summer - she wasn’t doing much else than sitting at home writing and playing music, and she didn’t want to become a complete couch potato. In reality she was avoiding walking past Chloe’s house. Just the thought of facing her again made her chest tighten. They hadn’t spoken in an entire month. Beca wrapped the cardigan around herself tighter and held her skateboard closer to her chest. The tighter she held herself together, the less likely she was to fall apart. Constant distractions weren’t enough. Everything reminded her of Chloe. Chapstick, lip gloss, SEGA, their favourite record store, her cardigan. Beca had hardly gone anywhere without it. It was _ridiculous_ how attached she was. She’s the one who messed up. She hurt Chloe. This was what she deserved, whether she liked it or not. But as she trudged along, she couldn’t help but wonder, it was the same thought that had been circling her mind for a month. What would happen if she faced Chloe again? She’d have to eventually. They still had senior year left. Would Chloe forgive her? Would she even want to listen to her side of the story? Beca was drawn from her thoughts by the sound of a car pulling up next to her, and she stepped closer to the wall, not looking up.

“Becaw!”

Beca stopped. She swallowed, gripping her board. She and Jesse hadn’t spoken properly since the kiss. She bit her lip. There wasn’t much she could do to get out of this. And it wasn’t like anything was happening with her and Chloe anytime soon. She turned.

“Jesse,” 

“Beca, get in, let’s drive,” 

Beca took a deep breath. Two options. She had two options. She didn’t have to do this. Would it be easier? She didn’t have to. She had options. 

She wrapped her cardigan around herself tighter.

“Yeah?”

“Come on!” He leaned forward and opened the door. “What, do you have something better to do?”

“I could think of a few things, weirdo.” Beca rolled her eyes, but she walked closer regardless and climbed in.

She didn’t know what she was doing. She didn’t know anything anymore; hell, she never had. All she knew was Chloe, and how much she missed her. But it was also summer. And it will continue to be summer for another entire month. She may as well not spend another month moping. 

Her and Jesse ended up spending the majority of their time together over the next few weeks. He took her to the arcade that afternoon, and Beca couldn’t deny that it was fun. He was as good at video games as she was, and he was the kind of goofy that she ended up having to laugh at more often than not. He forced her to watch a movie with him the next day. Makng out in the back of the theatre was cliche, but exhilarating. Having a glimpse of what could be was exhilarating. But understanding what her and Chloe couldn’t be only made the brunette miss her more. It hurt. Each time she kissed Jesse, each time she hung out with him, each time they so much as shared a glance, Beca was reminded of what could be. 

She didn’t like him. She knew she didn’t. And she could tell he wasn’t any more than infatuated with her. The infatuation will eventually pass. Her love for Chloe wouldn’t. 

It wasn’t all fun and games with Jesse either. A couple of times, he thought it would be amusing to poke fun at how much she wore her cardigan in the height of summer. And that hurt, it really did. He shut up after she eventually snapped at him for it; it was none of his fucking business as to why it was her favourite item of clothing to wear and pressurising and pestering her about it wasn’t gonna change that. 

It was then that Beca knew this was never going to work. She couldn’t even force herself to succumb to the possibility of liking Jesse, let alone get into a proper relationship wth him. At the end of the third week she told him, and apologised for everything. There was alway that ugly overriding thought that she was leading him on for weeks, and it wasn’t fair. He hadn’t done anything, he didn’t deserve to be played with. Beca had been shocked at how easily he took it; it was as if he knew this would be coming, as if he had prepared for it. As if he could tell that she was never truly involved with him, and never had the intention of them being anything more than a summer thing. Was she that obviously in love with someone else? Had he figured it out?? That night Beca was lounging arond in her room, debating continuing writing the song she’d had stuck in her head for the majority of the summer, when she got a phonecall. 

It was embarrassing how fast she scrambled for the landline.

“Hello?”

“Becaw,”

Beca rolled her eyes, cringing slightly. “Hey dude.”

“No need to sound so disappointed, I’m not calling to beg for you to date me,”

“So what are you calling for, Jess?” Beca chuckled. Now that there wasn’t a somewhat-feasible relationship hanging over their heads, having him as a friend wasn’t so bad.

“I’m calling to let you know that Luke told me Chloe’s having an end of summer party at her house on Friday.”

Beca blanched. He knew. He was going to be disgusted. He was probably calling her to confront her about it right now, tell her he would tell everyone when they got back to school. “Why are you telling me that?” Beca asked sharply, briefly wondering if hanging up before he answered would be her best bet.

“Hey, chill. I know you wanna make it up to her, dude, it’s obvious. And...I know you and her were at prom together. I don’t care, I swear. I’m cool with it. And I won’t tell anyone.”

Beca bit her lips together briefly. The relief that washed over her was unlike anything she had felt before. He didn’t care. “How did you find out?” 

“I never would have guessed if we hadn’t hung out. But the way she looked at us when she saw us at prom, you know? And you’ve been with me for like, a few weeks, but you were _so_ obviously thinking about someone else the entire time. And that cardigan is not something you would ever buy.”

“I’m sorry, Jesse. I swear I tried to just-”

“Forget about her, I know,” Jesse said lightly. “I’m sorry I fucked stuff up for you.”

Beca sighed. “None of this is your fault.”

“If I hadn’t kissed-”

“I let you.”

“I know, but-”

“Jesse. Stop.”

“Well…what’s the plan?”

“Plan?” Beca echoed dumbly.

“You knowwww...to get your girl back.”

“She’s not my girl, Jesse.”

“Not yet.”

“Shut up.”

“Come on, tell me. I know you’ve been obsessing over it for weeks,” Jesse chuckled.

“I don’t know, okay? It’s stupid. It’s just a dumb fantasy. It won’t happen.” 

“What is it?”

Beca rolled her eyes, casting a glance at the unfinished song lyrics on her desk. “I just...dude if you tell anyone this I swear to god you’re dead.”

“Watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off with me and your secret’s safe.”

Narrowing her eyes, Beca scoffed. “You’re a dickhead.”

“Do you want my romantic expertise or not?”

“Not.” Beca muttered.

“Liar.”

“Okay, whatever, yes, fine, we’ll watch the stupid movie. I...I want to just go to her house and talk to her. And I want her to...you know, forgive me or whatever. And just, I want us to make up on the porch, I don’t know.”

“Why the porch?”

“It’s a nice porch, I don’t know, she gave me the stupid cardigan there.”

“Awwwwww!” Jesse cooed.

“Shut up.”

“You’re such a romantic little softie!”

“Shut the fuck up, Jesse.”

“You should do it.” Jesse said, in that same honest and innocent tone from prom night. “You haven’t got much else left to lose, and-”

“Gee, thanks, Jess.” Beca snarked. 

“I _mean_ , there’s a worse case scenario here, but it’s Chloe. And if she loves you back-”

“Doubtful.”

“Stop interrupting. If she loves you back, or if you two are as meant for each other as you clearly are, she’ll forgive you. It was only a kiss, you know?”

“If it was only a kiss she wouldn’t have ghosted me for nearly two months.” Beca deadpanned. “But thanks. For telling me. About the party.”

“Are you gonna go?”

“Maybe.”

On Friday, Beca found herself standing with one foot on her skateboard, staring up at Chloe’s house. Just being there was enough to make her want to turn around and ride back home, tell her dad she wanted to transfer schools and never have to face Chloe again. She didn’t want to see the cold look she knew she was going to get. She’d never seen Chloe angry before. She didn’t want to find out what that looked like, she didn’t want to see how much she’d hurt her best friend and the girl she was in love with. The pain in Chloe’s eyes was still vivid in her memory from that night. The way her voice shook yet was stronger than ever when she told Beca to go fuck herself...it was all enough to make Beca wish they’d never even met. What was worse - she knew Chloe had probaby heard about her and Jesse hanging out. Even in summer, gossip travel fast around town. Having to explain it all, the waiting to see if she stood a chance of forgiveness with Chloe; it would kill her.

She was an hour early. She didn’t want everyone seeing whatever shitfest that was bound to happen. Chloe’s closer friends would probably be around helping her set up and get ready, but Beca didn’t care. If anything, she _wanted_ Chloe’s friends there. She couldn’t stand them, but Chloe forgiving her in front of Aubrey and Stacie, _kissing_ her in front of Aubrey and Stacie...Beca would know they’d be okay. That’s all she wanted. Taking a breath to calm her nerves, Beca picked her skateboard up and walked up to Chloe’s house. After gnawing at her lip for what felt like a lifetime, her hand tentatively twitching at her side, rising and falling to ring the bell as she shifted her weight, ready to bolt at any moment, Beca rang.

Her heart was racing a mile a minute. She shouldn’t do this, she really shouldn’t fucking do this. She should just let Chloe live her life, they’d both made their choices at prom. It wasn’t meant to be. Beca turned away, tears welling as she got ready to skate off.

“Beca?”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, stream folklore and check out my other works if you enjoyed it! this fic was set some time in the 90s, and i know at times beca is insufferable in this. i tried to write it as realistically as possible; i'm 17, and this is exactly what some of my friends have done to each other. i wanted to capture the teenage idiocy that comes with attempting to form relationships! 
> 
> in case it wasn't clear:  
> amy was inez  
> jesse was 'she'  
> beca was taylor/james  
> chloe was betty


End file.
